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Princess Beatrice of Battenberg; Queen Victoria

3 of 102 portraits of Princess Beatrice of Battenberg

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© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Princess Beatrice of Battenberg; Queen Victoria

by Unknown artist
oil on canvas, late 1860s-early 1870s
52 1/2 in. x 40 1/4 in. (1332 mm x 1022 mm)
Purchased, 1985
Primary Collection
NPG 5828

Sittersback to top

  • Princess Beatrice of Battenberg (1857-1944), Fifth and youngest daughter of Queen Victoria; wife of Prince Henry of Battenberg. Sitter associated with 102 portraits. Identify
  • Queen Victoria (1819-1901), Reigned 1837-1901. Sitter associated with 548 portraits, Artist or producer associated with 5 portraits. Identify

Artistback to top

  • Unknown artist, Artist. Artist or producer associated with 6577 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had nine children - five girls and four boys - with seventeen years between the oldest and the youngest. This meant that the queen was perpetually pregnant for nearly two decades. During a period of high infant mortality when it was rare to suffer no miscarriages or stillbirths, it was a tremendous feat that all of the children survived into adulthood. In this intimate portrait, Victoria is shown with her youngest child, Beatrice, who was known by everyone as ‘Baby’. She was treated less strictly than her older siblings, and was particularly spoiled by Albert. After her father's premature death in 1861, she was a great support to Victoria but was often left to play alone. The queen gave her consent for Beatrice to marry Prince Henry of Battenburg in 1885 on the condition that they made their home with her.

Linked publicationsback to top

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1867back to top

Current affairs

The Second Reform Act, although effectively a Liberal measure, is expediently passed by the Conservatives, under Disraeli's influence, who believed it would widen Conservative appeal by making the party appear more progressive. The Act extended the vote to 1.5 million working men in British towns, and redistributed 52 seats from towns with populations under 10,000 to the newer urban towns.

Art and science

Karl Marx publishes his hugely influential Das Kapital, whilst living and researching in London. Its proclaimed aim was 'to lay bare the economic law of motion of modern society', and it presented mid-Victorian capitalism in terms of a tragic drama.
Henry Irving rises to fame on the London stage, performing alongside Ellen Terry for the first time, beginning their famous theatrical association.

International

Francis Joseph, the Emperor of Austria, becomes King of Hungary, and thus ruler of the 'dual monarchy' of Austria-Hungary.
The dominion of Canada is formed, as the British North America Act unites four British colonies, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec. The Act defines much of Canada's constitution and operation of government, and Canada's dominion status is the first of its kind.

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Yusrin Faidz Yusoff

24 November 2021, 07:37

I believe it is Sultan of Johore's (Sultan Sir Abu Bakar) personal gift to Queen Victoria when he visited London in 1868. Based on a news article in 1878, a second painting was gifted to the Queen (head portrait), whilst mentioning an earlier full-length portrait comissioned during the Sultan's prior visit (The Illustrated London News, 14.9.1878). Both portraits were painted by Tavernor Knott.